Ten years ago, a strange blue smear flashed across the computer screen of Hanny von Arkel, a Dutch elementary school teacher. That anomalous blue smudge was located on a powerful telescope tracking movement. Thanks to the efforts of von Arkel,…
Germany’s crowdfunded train takes to the rails
BY: PHILIPPE DE JOCAS Rail travel kicked off in Europe, and it’s no surprise that even now, though cars and trucks continue to rule the roost in Canada and the United States, Europeans ride the rails more often than their…
The Internet is crowdfunding a bailout for Greece and it’s going surprisingly well
BY: THE PLAID ZEBRA Everyone is aware of the wasteland that is the current state of Greek economic affairs, as the nation quickly approaches its financial melting point. Yesterday Greece missed the deadline to pay €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) to the…
Scientists invent a spray that puts you to sleep after one sniff
Being a night owl is not always by choice. Sure, sometimes I will find myself in a late-night Pinterest spiral, pinning pictures of cats, motivational quotes and recipes that “I’m definitely going to try tomorrow.” But more often than not,…
The first household 3D printers are self-replicating
BY: TED BARNABY We’ve seen Google Glass, solar power roadways and the Oculus Rift, but when it comes to holy-shit-we’re-in-the-future gadgets, 3D printing is likely the most eligible of the new technologies. Ever since the release of the first 3D…
How crowdfunding could turn your startup into a multi-million dollar company overnight
BY: LUC RINALDI Surfing the web the other day, I discovered Coolest—that is, “a portable party disguised as a cooler.” Boasting a built-in blender, Bluetooth speaker, USB charger, cutting board, bottle opener, and more, the Kickstarter project is undoubtedly the…